Abstract
The genetic diversity of 134 serogroup X Neisseria meningitis isolates from Africa, Europe, and North America was analyzed by multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Although most European and American isolates were highly diverse, one clonal grouping was identified in sporadic disease and carrier strains isolated over the last 2 decades in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United States. In contrast to the diversity in the European and American isolates, most carrier and disease isolates recovered during the last 30 years in countries in the African meningitis belt belonged to a second clonal grouping. During the last decade, these bacteria have caused meningitis outbreaks in Niger and Ghana. These results support the development of a comprehensive conjugate vaccine that would include serogroup X polysaccharide.
Highlights
The genetic diversity of 134 serogroup X Neisseria meningitis isolates from Africa, Europe, and North America was analyzed by multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis
19 of 32 isolates from Europe and North America had distinct pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns (Figure 2) that differed from those of the African isolates. Among the latter 32 strains, similar PFGE patterns were observed for 13 isolates from the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States (Figure 2, clonal grouping X-II)
For bacteria from which multiple isolates with a similar PFGE pattern had been detected, we tested at least one representative from each year and country of isolation
Summary
The genetic diversity of 134 serogroup X Neisseria meningitis isolates from Africa, Europe, and North America was analyzed by multilocus sequence typing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. These bacteria have caused meningitis outbreaks in Niger and Ghana. Meningococcal populations are highly diverse, and lineages of meningococci with increased capacity to cause invasive disease are thought to arise periodically and spread, sometimes globally [16]. Few of these hyperinvasive lineages or clonal groupings are responsible for most meningococcal disease worldwide [17]. To investigate the phylogenetic relationships of these bacteria, we compared the isolates from Ghana with other serogroup X meningococci isolated during recent decades in Africa, Europe, and North America
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